When: Saturday 2nd June, 12:00 noon onwards

High Rides and Low Tides will be the first of eight group exhibitions of original works by Brothers of the Stripe, an artist collective consisting of Stephen Chan, Joel Millerchip, Kristian Jones, FiST, The Cloud Commission, Iain Sellar, Will Scobie, Mr The Beef and Patrick Schmidt.

The show will aim to bring together a mix of individual illustration styles and a unique visual take on imaginative rides via land and sea. Originals, limited edition prints and more will be on display.

In addition, there will also be live drawing, live screen printing by Get a Grip and live music. Click here to read more about the event on Facebook.

High Rides

The Bench 504 graffiti shop in the Custard Factory has put their unique sofa up for sale, customised by numerous artists over the last year.

This is your opportunity to own a unique piece of Digbeth memorabilia… shame I don’t have room for it!

The Bench 504 shop is open Tuesday to Saturday, selling a comprehensive range of specialist graffiti gear.

The Bay Leaf is looking forward to welcoming Jamie McGrane’s photography exhibition later this month. Jamie has been a proud Mod since 1984, and will share this passion using his amazing photography.

This is set to be the coolest arts launch ever, so make sure to pop down to the Bay Leaf to check out his work!

This is part of Bay Leaf’s commitment to promote local artist with free exhibition space – get in touch if you would like to display your work.

After its inauguration in 2011, Espirito Brum is coming back to Digbeth later this year. The festival is the UK’s answer to Espirito Mundo based in Brazil, and acts as a cultural exchange between the two countries.

With over 20,000 Brazilians living in Birmingham, and with Digbeth at the heart of the city’s creative quarter, it is an obvious choice of location. Espirito Brum provides artists and musicians with a meeting point to create, share and explore talent alongside artists from a far removed cultural context. Click here to see a selection of posts about last year’s festival to gain an idea of what to expect, or see Nicky’s photos from last year’s launch party below.

Organisers of the UK leg are currently on the look out for artists and musicians who would like to perform at this year’s Espirito Brum festival alongside a roster of Brazilian talent; if you or anyone you know are interested in taking part, head to the Espirito Brum website to apply.

When: Friday 19th to Sunday 21st October 2012
Where: various locations in Digbeth, centred around the Custard Factory

For one weekend each year, Digbeth’s arches vibrate with strange, wonderful sounds as the Custard Factory becomes the focal point for Supersonic Festival, one of the UK’s most distinctive and respected music festivals.

2012 marks the ten year anniversary of this dynamic, constantly challenging, experimental, multi-disciplinary arts festival, which identifies the otherwise indescribable connections between experimental music, art, performance and film.

This year will see performances from:

Lichens / Dylan Carlson / Zeni Geva / JK Flesh / Carlton Melton / Tim Hecker / Dope Body / Rangda / Flower-Corsano Duo / Six Organs of Admittance / Sir Richard Bishop / Goat and a Small but Hard label showcase featuring DJ Scotch Bonnet

Early bird tickets sold out in record time this year, but weekend tickets are still available here; a full line-up is available on the Supersonic Festival website.

The show will be performed four times between 22nd and 25th August, starting at 4pm each day at the Argyle Works on Great Barr Street. The Birmingham Opera Company (BOC) needs all that space for the show, which features two choirs, numerous musicians, and two separate performance halls.

BOC’s vision is “that opera must go beyond the opera house and beyond the enclosed existing opera audience”. This is certainly true of other performances held in Digbeth: the BOC used the Argyle Works for their specially-commissioned Life is a Dream during March. Using a disused warehouse with no stage or seating means that the show and its actors become part of the audience.

Helicopter quartet in rehearsal for Mittwoch aus Licht. Photo: Stockhausen Stiftung for Music

You might think that a five-hour operatic performance using BOC’s trademark audience participation is ground-breaking enough to be part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Think again. The finale of Wednesday from Light features a string quartet performing from four separate helicopters, with Radio 1′s DJ Nihal commentating!

The helicopter segment will be available for all to see online, although those of us living in Digbeth may find it easier to just look out the window! For more information, visit the Birmingham Opera Company website.

Readers of DiG are officially invited to attend ‘It Chose Me’, an exhibition by upcoming young visual artist Alexandria, as she unveils some of her latest work.

Alex is a contemporary artist who paints and photographs nature, buildings, people and furniture. She draws influences from cubism, Bauhaus and the natural world.

Come along and be entertained by live music and food in a relaxed atmosphere. Bay Leaf is committed to promoting local artists by providing free exhibition space – get in touch via their website if you would like to display your work.

For further details, email or tweet Alexandria, or check out the Facebook page by clicking the image below.

Cinema Society invites you to join fellow film enthusiasts for a night of short films made by local students. For one night only, this converted warehouse in Digbeth will become the focal point of talented film makers from in and around Birmingham.

The collection of films being screened are all made by students currently studying, or recently graduated from Birmingham City University.

The night is an experiment on how to help shape the future of underutilised areas of cities by creating social spaces and using local talent as a means for communication and bringing a like minded audience together.

Free entry. Drinks and snacks available.

The Custard Factory’s Green Man came in top, with the city’s JFK mural which is currently being restored, in 9th place.

Just another reason why Digbeth is Good!

Green Man. Image: Birmingham Mail.